South Korea is known as the plastic surgery capital of the world but local women are now starting to rebel against impossible standards of beauty, Telegraph said. The ‘beauty resisters’ are posting the anti-makeup videos on social media and asking not to force them to have facelifts.
South Korean women now joining a new trend known as ‘a beauty resistance’, they publicly destroy make-up and defiantly cutting their hair in the video posted on social media. In such a way, South Koreans are denouncing the pressure imposed on them by the patriarchal society, which emphasises flawless feminine beauty as the key to career and marital success.
The ‘beauty resistance’ trend is similar to ‘remove corset’ movement, that is the latest in a series of high-profile feminist initiatives across South Korea. Women have definitely tired from huge societal pressures to look perfect, modern society should be more flexible, believe the beauty resisters. The young generation of the South Koreans sees no point in the plastic surgery to improve their faces to get a job, for an instance. Many young people are relying on their intellect, not flawless skin. So why Seoul is still the capital of the plastic surgery?
Why do South Koreans get cosmetic surgery?
More than 70% of the poll’s respondents said they simply wanted to improve their looks, while 14.5% said they believed it boosted their prospects for employment or promotion. About 12% said they were encouraged by those around them.
The so-called “K-beauty” industry, which promotes pale, soft skin and delicate pink lips, is one of the largest in the world, believed to be worth some $18-24 billion.
In an indication of the unrealistic demands made over a woman’s appearance, a female newsreader made headlines earlier this year for taking the perceived radical decision to wear round-rimmed spectacles on air instead of contact lenses.
Number of post-surgery complaints is on the rise
The poll marks the first time the agency has directly surveyed plastic-surgery patients, said the spokeswoman of the Korean Women’s Development Institut. However, the number of complaints registered with the agency is on the rise, jumping 28.5% to 4,806 last year compared with 2012.
At the current rate, the number of complaints is likely to exceed 5,000 this year. The rising number of non-specialized cosmetic surgeons doesn’t automatically mean the rising of quality, and that is the root of the problem. According to the half-official data, the number of non-specialized cosmetic surgeons practice have raised by up to 10 times over five years.
“There is a lot of pressure young and middle-aged women to go to skin clinics to have wrinkle-free faces,” said spokeswoman Lee Mi-jeong from the KWDI.
